


A Meeting with Mothman

by SassmasterMaxie



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 76
Genre: Gen, MOTHMAN IS REAL Y'ALL, cryptid hunter duo lose their collective shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:02:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24251035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassmasterMaxie/pseuds/SassmasterMaxie
Summary: It's no secret that Angel wants to meet Mothman. And when his companion Elias says that Mothman is real, he has to see for himself.
Kudos: 3





	A Meeting with Mothman

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Loupgaros](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loupgaros/gifts).



Another day of scavving in Appalachia. Angel had finished salvaging the usable parts from all the junk he’d brought back and had finished putting it away when he heard a knock on the door to his crudely built but surprisingly sturdy wooden structure. Sure, Vault-Tec were total bastards but their Construction and Assembly Mobile Platform technology was second to none.

“Come in!” Angel called. The door swung open and a man wearing a well-worn Responders jumpsuit came in, black hair messy but his eyes carrying the awed look that a child would have. It was then that Angel looked up from the workbench, smiling when his misted eyes finally focused on the man. “Elias! Fancy that!” He set the gun he’d been modifying down for now. “What’ve you got for me?”

It took a moment for Elias to calm down enough to speak. What he’d witnessed had been nothing short of a dream come true and he’d basically dodged Scorched left and right in order to find Angel’s C.A.M.P and tell him the news. He still couldn’t believe that it had happened. He took a few breaths. “I… I saw Mothman. I saw him, Angel! He was real, and there, and–”

Angel’s eyes widened and his jaw fell open. “Y-You saw Mothman?! For real?!” He practically dived towards his backpack and quickly pulled out his notebook and a pen. “Slow down, take a few breaths, and tell me what you saw. I have to know.” He passed a carton of boiled water to his friend. Elias took a drink and sat down on top of the storage box, taking a few breaths.

“It was at the lighthouse. So…” Elias had to pause to breathe again, sipping the water as he told Angel about how he’d had to fight off radtoads at the lighthouse, collecting bioluminescent fluid from the fireflies and how he and another survivor of the Vault had had to watch the air pressure. Angel was constantly taking notes as Elias explained that once everything was right, that was when the Wise Mothman descended from the heavens above to deliver his knowledge. “… and that was how I finally saw Mothman.”

Angel finished taking notes and closed the notebook, depositing it back into his backpack. “I knew he was real, and you’ve gone out and proven it. I only wish I could’ve been there, but I was caught up dealing with mole miners up at the mines again.”

“It all happened so fast. I couldn’t believe it either.” Elias pulled out his own notebook and showed Angel a drawing that he’d made of Mothman. “But that’s what I saw.” Angel looked over the sketch and gave an approving nod.

“We’ll have to go up to the lighthouse together sometime.” Angel led Elias outside towards the cooking station he’d set up, tossing some chopped tatos and corn into the pot. “I really have to see this for myself. But now I know that all my research was worth it.” He began to stir, sighing a little. “My brother never believed all this, he always thought it was bullshit and fairy tales. God damn it, Jules.”

Elias took a seat by the fire, holding his hands towards it to warm them up slightly. “Not everybody is as open minded as we are. Was your brother in 76 too?”

“Jules? Nah.” Angel added some salt to the pot, along with some spices and a few herbs he’d found. “He was up in Boston with my nephew. Think they got taken to Vault 111, since Jules had done work in the military. If they made it to the Vault, I reckon they’d still be fine. Hey, we survived in the Vault, right?”

“True enough.” Elias sniffed up. “Glad I turned up when I did. That smells _amazing_.” He smiled at Angel then. “At least your food tastes good. You’d think that most people had forgotten what seasoning is.”

“No shit!” Angel let out a hearty laugh. “It’s almost like they don’t know how to add flavour.” He reached for two bowls and began to dish the soup into them. “Well, here’s something that’ll help stave off the hunger. Corn and tato soup with plenty of seasoning and spices.” The two practically demolished the soup between them to the point where there wasn’t even any left for seconds.

After cleaning up the cooking station and washing the bowls, Elias began to head out. “Tell you what, we’ll meet at the lighthouse tomorrow night. Bring your best weapon. We’ll need to take out lots of radtoads to get the stuff we need to summon Mothman.”

Angel gave him a thumbs up. “You got it. See you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow.” Elias waved and began to head back.

~ ~ ~

The next night, Angel had headed up to the lighthouse to meet Elias at the designated point. He’d packed several weapons – the Deathclaw gauntlet that he’d salvaged from parts that the Blood Eagles had been hoarding and his favoured shotgun, a gun where aim wasn’t quite as important. He had his notebook, enough food and water to stay around a while and a few stimpaks just in case. Now it was just a matter of waiting for Elias to show.

Almost as if on cue, the man showed up just moments later, fire axe in both hands. “Right, here’s the plan.” Elias looked to Angel, who nodded slowly. “Fireflies and radtoads are gonna make their way to the lighthouse. All we have to do is kill them, harvest the glowing fluid from them and drop it into the lamp at the top. Once we pour in enough fluid, the glow will bring Mothman to us. Got it?”

“Got it.” Angel nodded.

It was as if on cue that fireflies began to gather around the lighthouse, followed by radtoads. Angel and Elias were making short work of them, harvesting every bit of fluid that they could. Eventually they had a system going – as one headed up to the lighthouse to drop the fluid into the lamp, the other would be harvesting more fluid and would then head up as the first came back down.

As the night drew on and more radtoads fell, Angel was about to head back down from depositing glowing fluid into the lamp when the thing suddenly let out a very bright green glow. He heard Elias shout from below and he quickly rushed down the stairs.

In front of the lighthouse, surrounded by wispy mist, was the Wise Mothman, purple eyes glowing bright against his black body. Angel gasped and fell to his knees, jaw dropping open in awe. “I knew it… I knew it all this time! Mothman IS real!” All his years of researching the elusive cryptid had finally paid off. Elias simply smiled.

“Exactly!” Elias was struggling to hide his own giddiness. The Wise Mothman spread his large wings out, fluttering them ever so slightly. The two men looked on, feeling incredibly blessed to be in this presence. Eventually Angel managed to calm down enough to get his camera out of his bag, taking some pictures and asking Elias to take some of him with Mothman.

“This moment… nothing can ever compare to this moment. This was everything I could have hoped for, and more…” Angel was still unable to take it all in. And as the Wise Mothman spread his wings and took off into the night sky, he began to head back with Elias. “I still can’t believe it. We saw Mothman.”

“It still takes me by surprise every time. But yes, we saw him. And that… well, that more than makes up for all the shit we put up with out here.”

“I totally agree.” Angel put an arm around Elias’ shoulders as they headed back in the direction of Elias’ C.A.M.P, taking in the calm stillness of the night air.


End file.
